Gov. Newsom Cancels Plan for Competing Reform Prop. 47 Crime Measure on Nov. Ballot

“Gov. Gavin Newsom is scrapping his plan to put another crime question on the California ballot, three sources involved in the effort confirmed Tuesday night,” KCRA Capitol Correspondent Ashley Zavala reported Tuesday evening.

This news comes at an interesting time – a very recent poll said Newsom was 5 points weaker than Biden against Trump (w/3 pt margin of error)… which means neck and neck and anything negative could collapse his run. We naturally concluded that sour polling numbers drive Gov. Newsom’s political decisions.  

Thus “Gov. Newsom cancels plan to put competing crime measure on the ballot.”

The Globe spoke with a Senate Republican staffer who asked for anonymity, and replied, “Dem staffers are saying that there’s some polling showing the pounding Newsom and the Dem legislators were taking was ‘unsustainable,’ severely tanking his image, their candidates and even negative affecting their climate and Education bonds. Following the money and the egos.”

Ouch.

Another Capitol staffer said, “Must be interfering with his effort for Presidential run.”

Ouch.

Greg Totten, co-chair of the Prop. 47 reform initiative, Californians for Safer Communities, released his statement:

“We are pleased The Governor and Legislature have dropped their countermeasure and welcome them to join our campaign to responsibly amend Prop 47 to deal with retail theft, the fentanyl crisis and homelessness.”

Gov. Newsom took a lot of well-deserved heat for “whipping votes” for his proposed ballot initiative which was going to be directly competing with the already qualified ballot initiative backed by many of the state’s District Attorneys, and a bipartisan coalition of thousands.

“The Poison Pill proposition would let the same politicians who ignored crime for a decade roll back the increased penalties in contained,” said Jim Stanley, Press Secretary for Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher.

The Globe was on KFI’s John Kobylt radio show earlier this afternoon and warned that one of the biggest concerns of Democrats with the bipartisan effort to reform Prop. 47 initiative on the ballot, besides violating ballot initiative deadlines, was the down-ballot races voters would be weighing in on. The reform Prop. 47 initiative brought together perhaps the most bipartisan – or “no partisan” – voters, because crime impacts everyone. Crime is not partisan, and voters came together to get this initiative on the ballot.

So when Gov. Newsom and legislative Democrats announced their efforts to sideline the initiative, millions of Californians were livid.

The Globe reported Sunday evening on the governor’s machinations:

“Just when we thought it was safe to go back in the water, California Democrats are now calling session for late night Wednesday, July 3rd to enact an alternative to the Proposition 47 reform initiative. Capitol Staffers received that message late Sunday.”

We predicted:

“This isn’t going to go well.”

And it didn’t go well.

Monday, Jim Stanley said this:

“Absolutely shameless gaslighting from @GovPressOffice. Two weeks ago, their chief of staff was trying to strongarm the initiative off the ballot and their allies in the legislature were cramming poison pills into their own bills in an attempt to sabotage the whole process. Now, after that strategy failed spectacularly, they are suddenly passionate about giving voters choices. Laughable.”

At issue at this moment is the ballot initiative to reform the 2014 Proposition 47, which qualified with 910,000 signatures for the November ballot. Democrats in the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom have been attempting to derail it, despite the important legal fixes it will implement to California’s outrageous crime problems, to ultimately make crime illegal again in California.

“Selfish Democrat legislative leaders are throwing a temper tantrum because all their efforts to stop the initiative repealing Prop. 47 have been stymied, mainly by their own members,” a Senior Senate Republican staffer told the Globe Sunday on the condition of anonymity. “They are threatening to keep legislators and staff in session all night on July 3rd and into the 4th. When Sen Min (drunk driving in a state vehicle) announces he’s standing for ‘law and order’ you know vulnerable Democrats are in ‘CYA mode.’”

“This could hopefully be the biggest political revolution since Prop 13!”

Zavala said she was awaiting a statement from Gov. Newsom’s office as of Tuesday night.

The Globe received word late Tuesday evening that SB 1381, by Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Fremont) the bill holding the Democrats’ Proposition 47 changes, was being dropped as well.

As the Globe reported Sunday evening, “This is not good for the state of California, and not good for the people who live and work and vote in California. It’s a power play for the sake of power, rather than governing for the good of the people and the state.”

“And if no one in the California Legislature listens to the people, perhaps their usefulness should be challenged by the people.”

As positive as this bit of news tonight is, it is a appalling fact of Gavin Newsom politics that he did not do the right thing for the right reason. He will attempt to take credit for doing the right thing, but only because his poll numbers aren’t good.

That Gov. Newsom even tried to get his competing initiative on the ballot to undermine Democracy and voter’s Democratic process in this state should resonate with every voter.

I received many messages about Newsom’s antics, all saying the same thing: “We can’t let California lead the nation.”

Rep. Kevin Kiley had a great message:

“It’s over. Newsom’s final scheme to sabotage the End Prop. 47 initiative just failed. This is the most embarrassing episode for a governor in modern California history. More importantly, it is a historic win for Californians. We can set our state on a new course this November.”

We will report back with updates.